What I Did at Game Storm 11

Wow, this feels way too much like one of those essays you had to do in grammar school.

For those of you who don't know it, Game Storm is a smallish convention based in the Portland/Vancouver area. I'd like to give either Oregon or Washington claim to it, but the convention skips across the river depending on which city will give it the better deal. Usually it's in Vancouver, though, as it was this year.

This was only my second year attending and, as I did last year, I road-tripped down with my gaming group and made a weekend of it. The convention has its roots as a convention for board and card gamers but has groan to include all aspects of gaming - RPGs, miniatures, LARP and video games. They have hosted RPGA events and the usual rounds of tournaments presented by such folks as Privateer Press and Games Workshop (usually sanctioned events and not actual in-house corporate events).

So, what all did I do?

Well, besides playing a crap load of board games and card games with my friends and others. We, as a gaming group, hosted our 2nd Annual Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition game. This is a big game with the maximum of eight players played across a span of about 6-7 hours straight. It's the sort of thing that draws a lot of attention from the other board game geeks and even got us filmed for the Con video this year. This year was a bit slower going because we had a couple of brand new players to the game, But last year we actually made it to an amazing climactic end to the game. I did not get to do any other sort of gaming this year.

What I did get to do was meet industry people and bought a couple of nice RPGs. First and foremost, I had a chance to meet a couple of guys from Exile Games Studio, the company that makes the truly awesome RPG "Hollow Earth Expedition" also known as HEX. Jeff Combos (Concept, Lead Designer, Co-Writer, President) and M. Sechin Tower (Contributor/Editor) were both incredibly gracious when I stopped by their booth. Top folks these two.

Both these guys were more than happy to let me bend their ear about their wonderful game and even delved into their design angles and views on what makes for good gaming and all. If you are looking for a pulpy RPG with some real spirit and style as well as a great system, I would really recommend "Hollow Earth Expedition" from Exile Games Studio. Never mind this a local company from the Seattle area it's just that good of a game.

The other props have to go to a guy and game that were previously unknown to me, but that both made a huge impression on me and my buddies (we bought three copies of their game Helas at $45.95 per). Hats go off to Jerry D. Grayson and his partner in crime (sorry to him but I cannot recall his name). These two guys have produced a stunning book in "Helas", their game of Greek myth in a Space Opera setting. The layout of the book is lovely (thought the landscape format did throw us). Not only did he talk the talk, but Jerry invited me and two of my fellows straight into a demo game, running us through an action sequence that really highlighted some of the games stronger points. Thank you Jerry and company for a memorable moment.

On top of all this, they had something new this year that I would love to see continue. It never had an official name, or even an announcement, but we came to call it the "Swag Table". The Swag table was this little out of the way table that seemed to accumulate a fair amount of gaming stuff labeled as "Free", "Take Me", "Give Away" and such. Among the goodies were many issues of Dragon magazine from the days or yesteryear, which I passed up, having had many of them already. There were several starter decks of the "Dixie" card game. Also on the table was an unopened set of the old Armory blank counters, something I have been wanting to pick up but could never bring myself to buy.

The bit I found on the Swag Table were several blisters of 15mm minis from various eras that, though they did not fit into any project specifically, could easily be used as conversion materials.

The three packs I picked up were a pack of two SCW field gun (I intend to use for more Land Ironclads conversions), a 15mm SCW truck with what looks to be a sandbagged panel-sided bed (Not sure what to do with this one), and a pack of Spahis Command from Minifigs. These last figs actually may fit into one of my projects pretty well as I have been looking for some Arab-looking minis to convert to alien riders for some of my 15mm bits bugs.

So, what did I take away from the con, other than some goodies and great times? I have decided that I want to give something back and try to inprove the miniatures showing atthe convention and as such have cobbled a few possible games to host for next year, one of which is a 6mm Viking Invasion Demonstration/Participation game as well as a possible 15mm sci-fi game. I have also considered trying to see if I can drum up some of the West Coat GZG gamers from some games as well. All in all, I think that I just want to try my hand at being part of the show instead of the audience.

Thanks for reading. I know it was a long one, but it was a lot to tell.

-Eli

Back From Game Storm 11

I have returned!

Having survived the trip from Seattle to Vancouver, WA and then back again in Pathfinder packed full of four full-size gamer dudes, their clothes and about 20+ board games, I can say that this year ar Game Storm was even more fun than last year.

In addition to a ton of board and card games played, I also had a chance to pick up some kick-ass RPGs while meeting with friends from last year and eye-balling a bunch of possible purchases. One of the high points of the trip was meeting and talking with a bunch of great industry guys a couple of them from local companies up in my neck of the woods.

I will post more on this in the next couple days. I have quite literally just made it home and been in my house with my family for about an hour as I am finishing this up.

Talk to you all later,

-Eli

Off to Game Storm!

Howdy folks,

I am off to a local convention called Game Storm for the next four days. It's mainly a board gaming convention but there are plenty of RPGs and even some miniatures gaming to be had.

The schedule this year look promising with a few fun items on the list. Last year the final posted lists were even better and there are always pick-up games and the like. I'm not taking much with me this year, but I am planning on taking some Land Ironclads stuff I've been dying to play. I may bring along the laptop - what Hotel doesn't offer free wi-fi now days? If I do there may be the occasional update from the convention, but if not, I'll post on it when I get back.

One interesting tidbit that got me excited is finding out that the local company Exile Games will be in the dealers room and also running demos of their games. If you haven't had a chance, check out Hollow Earth Expedition also known as HEX. It's a pulpy romp through the 1930s with a focus on exploring a legendary land inside our very own Earth. Looking forward to gaming with the creators and picking up a print copy of the rules (I've got the PDF).

Anyhow, need to get things in order and prep to leave on the morrow.

Have fun. I know I will be!

-Eli

What I've Been Up To or How Do I Keep Getting Into These Messes?

A whirl of hobby stuff and nothing getting done.

What am I working on?

Too much stuff evidentally. But this is not a bad thing. Headway is headway and even if nothing in particular gets done, something does. I have been spreading myself across a few things and finding myself spread way too thin in any one place.

First off, I have been trying to do family stuff and spending less time online and at the hobby table, which is a good thing. Now onto the hobby stuff.

Most of my time has been spent working on terrain for 15mm sci-fi stuff. I had moved away from the 28mm Pulp stuff for a bit because we haven't been playing much of it and the Laputa VSF project is sort of on hold until I can get inspired again. For the 15mm sci-fi I have been working on -

1) Alien Tribal Huts - Converted plastic easter eggs and other domed structures.

2) Colony/Space Station Buildings - These are being made from various bits of packing, some containers and other cheap items but I am still trying to work out doors and other details.

3) Bug Holes - Another expanding foam project.

4) General scenics - This includes things like storage tanks, vaporators, comm towers, junk piles etc.

Besides the 15mm sci-fi terrain I also took advantage of Fantasy Flight's At-43 sale to purchase some more minis for use as Combat Walkers. I now have 12 of the TacArms to convert for my Chinese forces and three of the Kollosus walkers which should make really cool heavier walkers for one force or another (not sure which yet). The Kollosus really do look big enough for two crew inside and have about the same total volume in 15mm as a tank or other IFV. I have been seriously contemplating picking up one of the open-cockpit TacArms to convert to show a 15mm interior.

Let's see. What else?

Oh yes, remember those bits bugs I posted a while back? Well, the survival horror project I made them for went int othe bin but they are being revived as alien mounts for the 15mm sci-fi projec. It just so happens that a 15mm cavalry figure fits perfectly on their backs. So, I am currently working on what sorts of aliens I want riding them. I am thinking of something equivelant to alien camelry.

Really, I haven't been doing a lot of doing. It seems I spend a lot of time planning projects these days, but I suppose that's good too. But this leaves the question, what do I still have left to finish.

Ugh...

28mm pulp figures - 80%

15mm hovertanks - 50%

Custom Aeronef Fleet - Vaporware at this time

Dark Future Road Warrior Cars - 10%

Laputa Project - Planning stages

6mm Trojan War Project - 2%

Land Ironclads -60%

I'm sure there are more but nothing that constitutes a project persay.

So, that's what I've been up to.

-Eli

Inspiration - Martian Heavy Cavalry

So, looking over some recent offerings by Khurasan Miniatures, I saw something in their line of 15mm Kushan figures that gave me an idea for a potential new troop type for those fighting on a VSF Mars. Now, keep in mind that I do not play VSF Mars, but I do like to keep an eye out and share inspirations that I find out there.

The figures in question are
http://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/km1100.jpg
http://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/km1104.jpg
http://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/km1105.jpg

Of course the horses are right out, but these figures, mounted on your favorite Martian native mount would make for a great heavy cavalry unit. Painted the padded armor as some sort of Martian animal hide or even as metal and they will look suitably exotic and alien enough to really impress on the table. There is also a version of these with spear and shield, but Khurasan doesn't have pics up yet.

I do hope you enjoyed this idea and I hope that if anyone decides to use this idea, you'll share the results.

Take care,

-Eli

15mm Sci-Fi - The State of the Hobby

As many of you likely know, I'm into 15mm sci-fi and it looks like it's a good time to be into it. GZG has, for a long time been on the spearhead of growing the offerings for the hobby but they are by no means the only ones. Independent ventures such as Force XXI and Combat Wombat have done a lot to bolster what is out there. Add this to the classics of Laser Burn and the reemergence of the old Traveller line through Rafm and it's party time. But it doesn't end there.

Several other companies have thrown in for what can only be called a new "Golden Age" of 15mm sci-fi. Rebel Minis and Khurasan Miniatures have both either released or announced upcoming releases in this scale and there is even a new kid on the block with some nice ideas in the form of Black Autumn Productions. I'm sure I'm missing a few others but this is an amazing influx of new stuff for this angle on the hobby.

For me, what's really cool is that there are so many proposed offerings of new alien figures. One manufacturer, Khurasan, has even stated that they will likely hold off on human figs for a bit due to humans having such a distinct lead in the 15mm sci-fi department. This is a great step in my search for more and interesting aliens for my games.

I would suggest that anyone who wants to follow the progress of these releases should tune into Dropship Horizon. Mark there seems to have his fingers firmly on the pulse of this movement. Give him a check and let us all welcome in the new explosion of 15mm sci-fi.

Thanks,

-Eli

Really Alien Aliens

So, as I fiddle with the 15mm sci-fi project and try to cool my jets on the approach to game Storm, I found myself thinking about the aliens that make it into miniatures and I realized that for the most part, they all seem to be a lot of the same ol' same ol'. Now, this is to be expected, to a degree, as miniature companies are going to produce what sells. On the other hand, however, if you never build it, how do you know if they will come or not?

To my limited recollection, we have had a countless slew of aliens wannabes, anthropomorphized animals, mythological races in space (eldar, squats, space orks, etc), and near humans up to the gills.

Jon at GZG has given us a couple of good ones with the Phalons and the new Ixx. These fall, along with the Spugs from Spriggan, into what I call "Bugs with Guns". Other than these, it's all pretty much more of the same. If I've overlooked something, it's either because it didn't register or I haven't seen it.

I guess the question comes into my head as "Why don't we see more really alien aliens?"

Some of the most popular sci-fi games RPG and tactical have featured truly alien species, but they seem to always fall shy of the sculpting table. Where are out aliens with odd-numbered limbs or geometric central masses? Where are out stilty aliens? What happened to our aliens that barely register as sentient because they are just that odd?

What's funny is that even some of the obvious ones can't even seem to fly. Every gamer fanboy (no insult intended, just a description) worth his dice bag and catch phrase t-shirt (of which I have many)either does, or at one time has fancied feline aliens, or space wolfmen or busty amazonian warrior chicks, but how many of these do you see getting serious consideration in sci-fi miniatures? I have even had an on again off again crusade, myself, to get a line of hi-tech "raptoroid" dinosaur-inspired aliens into production, but even the intoxicating blend of dinosaurs and laser guns doesn't seem enough to lure producers into action.

I imagine that there are some aliens that simply defy casting, not sculpting, but production casting, but surely there has got to be some more room for innovation in sci-fi aliens miniatures. I surely hope so, because I sincerely doubt we need another bio bug menace or robotic terror horde.

-Eli

P.S. If anyone could ever bring to life anything even remotely similar to the bugger from the Alex Ries pic at the top of this post, that would just be aces in my book.